Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Small Businesses: Environment Protection

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing voluntary climate and nature reporting frameworks for small businesses.

Greg Hands: To support the UK’s transition to net zero, the Government considers it important to ensure that companies with a material economic or environmental impact or exposure assess, disclose and ultimately take actions against climate-related risks and opportunities. In light of this, from 6 April 2022, over 1,300 of the largest UK-registered companies and financial institutions will have to disclose climate-related financial information on a mandatory basis – in line with recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. The Government’s longer-term ambition is for this to lead to the development of best practice, to support smaller companies to disclose should they wish to. The Government continues to encourage small businesses to join the Race to Zero and make a net zero commitment, with over 2,800 doing so to date.

Green Deal Scheme: Tribunals

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the cost to date is of the legal fees associated with defending the Green Deal in the First Tier Tribunal proceedings brought by Citizens Advice Scotland.

Greg Hands: The Government has incurred £82287.80 in legal fees associated with defending the Green Deal in the First Tier Tribunal proceedings brought by appellants who have been assisted by Citizens Advice Scotland. The level of involvement from Citizens Advice Scotland varies on a case-by-case basis.

Digital Technology: Disadvantaged

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will ensure that people who do not have digital access do not pay higher tariffs or bills as a result of their digital poverty.

Greg Hands: Energy consumers can choose to receive paper bills from their suppliers, sent through the post and then make a payment upon receipt at no extra cost. However, if they choose to manage their energy account on-line and make monthly direct debit payments, they will benefit from savings made by their supplier on billing and administration costs which will include not having to use paper bills or postage. These savings are often reflected in a low standing charge. A range of broadband social tariff packages are now available in the market to support those on low income or who receive specific benefits. BT, Virgin, Hyperoptic and other providers are offering similar package to assist households in receipt of Universal Credit and other means-tested benefits, starting at £15 per month. Between them, these products are available to 99% of households across the country.

Natural Gas: Energy Supply

Sir Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of how quickly the UK could increase gas produced and supplied to domestic customers by its offshore fields; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: Development of capacity in the upstream gas sector can take some years. The UK’s offshore gas sector is maximising production where possible, with output in recent months running at 90-100% of theoretical capacity, and this is expected to continue in the coming months. New gas wells recently coming online have contributed to a small increase in UK gas production. Oil and Gas Authority projections suggest a further small increase may be seen in 2022 relative to 2021 levels, largely reflecting a planned maintenance shutdown of the Forties pipeline system in 2021 which temporarily reduced production.

Energy: Prices

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will hold discussions with Citizen's Advice on targeted support for low income households in April 2022 through an energy support grant.

Greg Hands: BEIS Ministers and officials meet regularly with Citizens Advice to discuss a range of issues relating to the energy retail market. The energy price cap ensures millions of households pay a fair price for their gas and electricity. Support for energy bills is available to eligible low-income households through the Warm home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment and the Cold Weather Payments. On 3 February, the Government announced a package of support worth £9.1 billion to help domestic energy customers with the cost of rising energy bills. This includes a £150 non-repayable Council Tax rebate in April 2022 to all households in Council Tax Bands A-D, £144 million of discretionary funding for local authorities to support those not eligible for the Council Tax rebate and a £200 discount on energy bills this Autumn for domestic electricity customers’ bills, to be paid back automatically over the next five years.

Natural Gas: Russia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to end British reliance on Russian gas.

Greg Hands: The Government has diverse and flexible sources of gas supply which ensures that households, businesses, and heavy industry get the energy they need. The Government meets around half of the UK’s annual gas supply through domestic production and most imports come from reliable suppliers such as Norway. Less than 3% of our gas was sourced from Russia in 2020 through liquified natural gas. There are no gas pipelines directly linking the UK with Russia. Unlike other countries in Europe, the UK is not dependent on Russian gas supply.

British Business Bank

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to help support the British Business Bank strengthen its approach to countering fraud.

Paul Scully: The Department already supports the British Business Bank (BBB) in its counter fraud activities and will continue to do so. We work in partnership with BBB to support their compliance with the Government Functional Standards in Counter Fraud including the:-Detection and Measurement of fraud,Fraud Risk Assessments,Measurement of fraud controls,Investigation of fraud andHigh level fraud analysis. Further, we are working to strengthen the future approach to fraud. The department is currently working with BBB on an updated fraud strategy to address the challenges associated with the Bounce Back Loan and which for instance includes:-Improved Management InformationEnhanced enforcement actionHow insight from current schemes can be used to prevent fraud in future schemes administered by BBB on behalf of BEIS.

British Business Bank

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the British Business Bank being required to set higher standards for lenders than the statutory minimum because public money is at stake.

Paul Scully: Lenders accredited to deliver the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme are subject to the terms of Guarantee Agreements, which they must abide by to be eligible to make a claim under the Government guarantee. The recovery principles outlined in these agreements are no less stringent than those applied to standard commercial lending.

British Business Bank

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to take steps to tackle disparities in basic lender performance of the British Business Bank, in response to some lenders putting in additional checks to counter fraud, while others did not.

Paul Scully: All lenders continue to be subject to a robust audit and assurance process by the British Business Bank. If lenders don’t meet their obligations in the Guarantee Agreement the Bank can take remedial action including cancellation of the guarantee.

Department of Health and Social Care

General Practitioners: Refugees

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to take steps to support general practice to help meet the health needs of Afghan refugees.

Maria Caulfield: In response to the relocation of individuals and families from Afghanistan, the Government has provided up to £600 per person to support immediate and primary healthcare needs while in temporary bridging hotels. NHS England and NHS Improvement’s expectations of local commissioners include permanent general practitioner registration and health assessments to identify and manage immediate health and care requirements. Funding has been provided for additional capacity to mitigate the impact on access to general practice. The initial health assessment should address any trauma and safeguarding concerns, mental health needs, women’s and children’s health, long-term conditions, vaccinations, areas of public health concern such as tuberculosis screening and ensure pathways to other services as required. Once in long term local authority accommodation, a further £2,600 per person is provided to the National Health Service, which will be administered by clinical commissioning groups.

Cancer: Health Services

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the rate of refusals by NHS Hospital Trusts to requests by GPs for two-week emergency cancer referrals (a) across England, (b) for Hospital Trusts in the London region and (c) for Barts NHS Health Trust.

Maria Caulfield: This information is not collected centrally.

Health Professions: Recruitment

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the amount and proportion of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme disbursed for items other than the recruitment and employment of additional healthcare professionals in (a) London and (b) England in each year since that scheme's introduction.

Maria Caulfield: The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) is designed to reimburse the salaries and on-costs of roles included in the Scheme. Under the 2019 contract agreement, NHS England and NHS Improvement contribute to the cost of the specific new clinical roles within Primary Care Networks (PCNs) over the period of the contract. Initially the funding provided 70% of ongoing salary costs plus on-costs for three roles - clinical pharmacists, physician associates and first-contact physiotherapists, with community paramedics recruited from 2021/22 and full funding for social prescribing link worker roles during the contract period.Updated contracts for 2020/21 and 2021/2022 set out increases in the scale of the new roles. NHS England and NHS Improvement now reimburse 100% of salary and on-costs for range of additional roles and the number of staff funded under the scheme will increase to 26,000 by 2023/24. On average, each PCN will have approximately 20 full time equivalent staff by 2023/24 funded through the ARRS.

Foetal Anticonvulsant Syndrome

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to increase awareness of fetal valproate spectrum disorder among health care professionals.

Maria Caulfield: The valproate Pregnancy Prevention Programme is supported by educational materials for healthcare professionals and patients which describe the neurodevelopmental disorders and major congenital malformations associated with the use of valproate in pregnancy. These are circulated to healthcare professionals annually, most recently in December 2021.Additionally, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has raised awareness among healthcare professionals through updates to the valproate Summary of Product Characteristics, patient information leaflets and educational materials. The risks associated with valproate use in pregnancy have been communicated in articles in the MHRA’s bulletin and letters through the NHS Central Alerting System. This is supported by messages from professional bodies and reinforced through clinical guidelines and improved alerts on general practitioner prescribing systems.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to extend the roll out of the HPV vaccine to those aged up to 16 years old.

Maria Caulfield: Girls and women born after 1 September 1991 and boys born after 1 September 2006 are already eligible for the vaccine until the age of 25 years old and can access a ‘catch-up’ vaccination through their general practitioner.

Department for Education

Educational Institutions: Russia

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his policy is on Russia’s continuing membership of international educational bodies of which the UK is also a member; and if he will make a statement.

Michelle Donelan: The United Kingdom stands united with partners in condemning President Putin’s outrageous attack on Ukraine as a clear breach of international law and the United Nations Charter. President Putin must urgently de-escalate and withdraw his troops. He must be held accountable and stop undermining democracy, global stability, and international law.While President Putin continues to violate international law, human rights and multiple commitments to peace and security, the government will, together with its allies, work to isolate on the international stage. Action has already been taken in some bodies. For example, the Council of Europe voted on 25 February to suspend Russia. The UK and over 50 countries staged a walk out of the UN Human Rights Council as Russia’s Foreign Minister started speaking on 1 March 2022. Given the varied nature of the multilateral system, even within a specific sector such as education, the government will need to approach this on a case-by-case basis, while being consistently clear that it condemns President Putin’s appalling actions.The government continues to stand ready for dialogue with Russia within the multilateral system if it serves the purpose of ending bloodshed in Ukraine, defending the sovereignty of Ukraine and upholding international law.The department is aware of a number of international education organisations that have taken the step of suspending Russia’s activities and we stand united with this approach.

Interpreters and Translation Services

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of protecting the titles of interpreters and translators in law.

Alex Burghart: Matters of professional titles and what qualifications and skills a person needs for entry to a profession are for employers and professional bodies. The Department for Education has no role in such matters.There are a range of interpreting and translating qualifications available to learners to facilitate access to interpreting and translating professions, some of which are approved for public funding. Eligibility for funding will depend on individual circumstances and prior learning.

Education: Finance

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding for education the Government has allocated to local authorities in (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017, (d) 2018, (e) 2019, (f) 2020 and (g) 2021.

Mr Robin Walker: The published dedicated schools grant allocation tables contain details of early years entitlement funding distributed to local authorities. This is summarised in the attached table. The table shows final allocations, except for the financial year 2021/22 which shows initial allocations:Time period (financial year)Early years block in the DSG (£ million)2015-162,7352016-172,7012017-183,2772018-193,5782019-203,6182020-213,6272021-223,550Most of the funding that the department provides for the provision of education, both for schools and high needs provision, is allocated to local authorities in the first instance. Local authorities are allocated most of their funding for schools and high needs through the dedicated schools grant (DSG).Funding for academies is paid directly to trusts by the Education and Skills Funding Agency. However, local authorities set the local formulae that determine academies’ allocations. Local authorities’ DSG allocations take account of the funding made available for all schools in their local areas. There are also other grants which the department pays to local authorities in the first instance. The department then asks local authorities to pass those on to the maintained schools in their area. This includes, for example, the pupil premium grant. The pupil premium helps schools improve the academic attainment and wider outcomes of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, and total pupil premium funding will increase to over £2.6 billion in financial year 2022/23, from £2.5 billion this year.The table shows funding since the 2015/16 financial year for the education of 5 to 16-year-olds in England, in all state-funded schools. This is based on the annual release of the school funding statistics, which can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-funding-statistics.The published statistics include the schools block, central school services block and most of the high needs block of the DSG, pupil premium grant funding, the supplementary free school meals grant, the early career framework grant, and the teachers’ pay grant and teachers’ pension employer contribution grant (which have been rolled into the DSG from 2021/22). The coverage has been chosen both to capture core funding for schools and to ensure the series is as comparable over time as possible, despite changes to the specific grants allocated to schools and local authorities over the years shown.The figures do not include any funding allocated to support with the response to the COVID-19 outbreak, because the inclusion of this time-limited funding to support schools would cause inconsistencies in the time series. Since June 2020, we have announced nearly £5 billion of investment for education recovery to support children and young people to catch up on missed education, and more information can be found in the annex to the school funding statistics publication above.Figures in the funding time series are rounded to the nearest £100 million.Time period (financial year)School funding (£ million) School funding plus post-16 high needs funding (£ million)2015-1639,60040,1002016-1740,20040,7002017-1840,90041,5002018-1942,50043,1002019-2044,40045,1002020-2147,60048,3002021-2249,60050,300 The table below provides the amount of 16-19 funding that has been allocated to local authorities in England. This excludes post-16 high needs but includes funding that goes directly to local authorities, and the funding they receive for school sixth forms, as set out in the published 16 to 19 allocations data. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-allocation-data-2021-to-2022-academic-year.Time period (academic year)Total 16-19 programme funding allocated to local authorities (£ million)2015/165892016/175252017/184682018/194072019/203692020/213982021/22411 Funding allocations for 19 year-olds and beyond, including allocations to local authorities, are published at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/19-funding-allocations.Since the start of the 2019/20 academic year, a proportion of the adult education budget (AEB) has been devolved to several mayoral combined authorities and the Greater London Authority. Approximately 50% was devolved in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years, and 60% was devolved in the 2021/22 academic year. The mayoral combined authorities and the Greater London Authority are responsible for deciding which providers they contract with the amount of AEB they allocate to them.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners Release

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the (a) number and (b) trends in the level of prisoners released through early release on compassionate grounds in each of the last five years.

Victoria Atkins: As detailed in Prison Service Order 600 and Prison Service Order 4700, the Secretary of State may use his executive power to release prisoners early on compassionate grounds. An application may be made by or any behalf of any prisoner, but early release is granted only in exceptional circumstances, where a prisoner is suffering from a terminal illness or is experiencing tragic family circumstances and where releasing the prisoner on licence would not place the public at risk. The Secretary of State for Justice has recently decided to take all decisions personally; previously, decisions were delegated to officials. Please find below the number of prisoners released early on compassionate grounds in England and Wales, in the last nine calendar years. 201320142015201620172018201920202021 (up to September)7111118618111411 Please note that the data for 2021 is up to and including September 2021 as data beyond this are a subset of our releases data, due for future publication as part of Offender Management Statistics Quarterly.

Ministry of Justice: Coronavirus

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department and its agencies remove all internal covid-19 related policies, restrictions and mask mandates.

James Cartlidge: The announcement of the ‘Living With Covid’ strategy means all Covid-related restrictions across the courts in England and Wales have been reviewed, and will be removed as quickly as possible.Throughout the pandemic, all Civil Service employers have followed government guidance in setting out their internal COVID-19 related policies. This includes complying with the ‘Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance’ which sets out the key actions organisations should take to protect employees and customers, in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in workplaces, along with carrying out health and safety risk assessments that include the ongoing risk from COVID-19.On 21 February 2022, the Government published their COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19. This document sets out how and when the remaining restrictions will be lifted in England. Government guidance was subsequently amended, including the Working Safely guidance.The Government’s Working Safely guidance, which was launched on 24 February, continues to require organisations to carry out a risk assessment which includes the risk from COVID-19. It also sets out additional actions organisations can take to protect employees and customers in the workplace, such as ensuring adequate ventilation, frequent cleaning, asking people to wash their hands frequently and asking people with COVID-19 to stay away. The guidance advises that people continue to wear face coverings in crowded and enclosed settings where they come into contact with people they do not normally meet, when rates of transmission are high. Civil Service employers will continue to follow this guidance and align their policies accordingly.

Offences against Children: Criminal Proceedings

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that child abuse claims are dealt with in a timely fashion within the criminal justice system.

James Cartlidge: Child sexual abuse cases are some of the most challenging, complex and sensitive cases. They are dealt with by specially trained prosecutors, working closely with the police to build the strongest possible cases that meet the legal test.In 2020-2021 there were 6,402 prosecutions for cases classified as child abuse. In the same period the conviction rate was 85.6%, an increase of 2.7% on the previous year.Listing and prioritisation is a judicial function and judges continue to work to prioritise cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses (including youth cases), domestic abuse and serious sex cases. The most effective method to ensure that child abuse cases are dealt with in a timely fashion once they get to court is to expand our capacity, so that all cases requiring jury trial can be heard swiftly. To achieve this, among various other measures, we removed the limit on the number of days the Crown Court can sit in the 21/22 financial year, and equipped over 70 per cent of all courtrooms with the video hardware to use Cloud Video Platform, which enabled up to 20,000 cases to be heard virtually each week at the height of the pandemic. These measures are working. The caseload in the Crown Court has reduced from around 61,000 cases in June 2021 to around 58,400 cases at the end of December 2021.Looking ahead, we will be investing £477 million in the Criminal Justice System to improve waiting times for victims and to reduce the Crown Court backlogs caused by the pandemic from 60,000 cases today to an estimated 53,000 cases by March 2025. We are also extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months for a single Triable Either Way offence to allow more cases to be heard in the magistrates' court. As a result of these measures, in the next financial year we expect to get through 20% more Crown Court cases than we did pre-Covid (116,700 in 22/23 compared to 97,000 in 19/20).Having the right data across the criminal justice system is also crucial to recovery. Working with our partners across the justice system, we have published criminal justice scorecards which bring together data on key areas of performance, including timeliness. The national CJS scorecards for all-crime and recorded adult rape, published in December 2021, can be found here: https://data.justice.gov.uk/cjs-scorecard-all-crime

Rape: Trials

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many rape trials were abandoned from their start dates (a) due to a lack of (i) prosecution advocates or (ii) defence advocates and (c) for other reasons in each of the last five years.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many trials for sexual offences excluding rape were abandoned (a) from their start dates and (b) due to a lack of (i) prosecution and (ii) defence advocates in each of the last five years.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many trials for fraud offences were abandoned (a) from their start dates and (b) due to a lack of (i) prosecution and (ii) defence advocates in each of the last five years.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, the (a) mean and (b) median average time taken was for a trial where the original start date was abandoned to be assigned a successful new date in each of the last five years.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many trials for offences of (a) rape, (b) sexual assault and (c) indecent assault have been abandoned from their start dates and are awaiting a new start date as of 17 February 2022.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many trials for (a) rape of, (b) sexual assault of and (c) sexual activity with a child under the age of 13 were abandoned (i) from their start dates and (ii) due to a lack of (A) prosecution and (B) defence advocates in each of the last five years.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many trials for (a) making and (b) distributing an indecent image of a child were abandoned (i) from their start date and (ii) due to a lack of (A) prosecution and (B) defence advocates.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many trials for (a) conspiracy or (b) possession with intent to supply a Class A drug were abandoned (i) from their start dates and (ii) due to a lack of (A) prosecution and (B) defence advocates in each of the last five years.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many trials for causing (a) death by dangerous driving (b) driving without due care and attention and (c) driving while under the influence or whilst over the prescribed limit were abandoned (i) from their start dates, (ii) abandoned due to lack of (A) prosecution and (B) defence advocates in each of the last five years.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many murder trials were abandoned (a) from their start dates and (b) due to a lack of (i) prosecution and (ii) defence advocates in each of the last five years.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many trials for (a) burglary and (b) robbery were abandoned (i) from their start dates and (ii) due to a lack of (A) prosecution and (B) defence advocates in each of the last five years.

James Cartlidge: Data collated centrally by MOJ does not include a count of ‘abandoned’ trials. Rather, trials are recorded as ‘ineffective’, meaning, that does not go ahead on the scheduled trial date and a further listing is required. This can be due to action or inaction by one or more of the prosecution, the defence or the court. There has been an increase in ineffective trials during the pandemic, partly driven by defendants being ill due to Covid. We continue to take action to tackle the impact the pandemic has had on our courts and tribunals system. We invested a quarter of a billion pounds to support recovery in the last financial year (20/21). In the recent Spending Review, more than £1 billion has been allocated to boost capacity and accelerate recovery from the pandemic in courts and tribunals. This increased funding will enable us to hear more cases and reduce backlogs. We removed the limit on the number of days the Crown Court can sit in the 21/22 financial year and as a result of this, in the next financial year we expect to get through 20% more Crown Court cases than we did pre-Covid (116,700 in 22/23 compared to 97,000 in 19/20). We have also been asked to provide data on how many trials for offences of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault have been abandoned from their start dates and are awaiting a new start date as of 17 February 2022. However, the total number of trials for rape, sexual assault and indecent assault would include those where a new trial date is not required (e.g. a plea has changed to guilty), so we are not able to accurately answer that question.We have provided data on ineffective trial reasons where the sole reason is no advocate being available for one or both sides in the attached document. The data for each calendar year includes the figures as of 31st December of that year. For 2021, we provide data up to the 30th September which is the latest data available. This data shows that before the pandemic, the numbers of ineffective trials were falling significantly across all the offence types listed. 125045_55_table (xlsx, 19.2KB)

Rape: Trials

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many rape trials in England and Wales have been postponed (a) once, (b) twice and (c) three times in each of the last three years.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many rape trials in England and Wales have been postponed at 24 hours' notice in each of the last three years.

James Cartlidge: The Covid-19 pandemic significantly impacted trial effectiveness, as the various participants in the trial process were not always able to attend court. HMCTS continue to take action to tackle the impact the pandemic has had in particularly on trial effectiveness. We have removed the limit on the number of days the Crown Court can sit in the 21/22 financial year. In the next financial year, we expect to get through 20% more Crown Court cases than we did pre-Covid. We have also increased the number of Crown courtrooms available for use compared to pre-pandemic levels. (PQ 131200) The table below sets out the data held by HMCTS for trials in the Crown Court for the offence of Rape which have been ineffective once, twice, and three times in each of the last three years.Period1 previous ineffective trial2 previous ineffective trials3 previous ineffective trialsOct - Dec 201824~0Jan - Dec 20195211~Jan - Dec 202027~~Jan - Sep 202161~~ ~ Equates to a value of fewer than 5Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.Internal Data taken from a live management information system and can change over time.A trial is ineffective if it does not go ahead on the trial date due to action or inaction by the prosecution, the defence or the court and further listing for trial is required.Data from April-19 is derived from the XHIBIT case management system. Data prior to this is derived from the CREST case management system (PQ 131201) The table below sets out the data held by HMCTS for trials in the Crown Court for the offence of Rape which have been vacated at one day’s notice in each of the last three years. PeriodTotalOct - Dec 20189Jan - Dec 201921Jan - Dec 202047Jan - Sep 202135 Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.*We are unable to confirm if these cases were postponed or if there was no requirement to refix.Internal Data taken from a live management information system and can change over time.Data from April-19 is derived from the XHIBIT case management system. Data prior to this is derived from the CREST case management system. Reasons for vacated trial were held in free text fields in Xhibit.When a trial is vacated it means that it will no longer take place on the date set aside for it in the court calendar. This usually happens when one or both of the parties is not ready to proceed and there is agreement between them both that an adjournment would be in order.Our Rape Review Action Plan sets out clear measures such as the first ever adult rape scorecards. The scorecard will provide a tool for us to monitor performance and will allow us to understand any barriers to progress and address them more effectively.

Legal Aid Scheme: Contracts

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many firms of solicitors hold a (a) civil and (b) criminal legal aid contract as of 28 February 2022.

James Cartlidge: There are currently 1,062 firms who hold a Criminal Legal Aid Contract and there are currently 1,369 firms who hold a Civil Legal Aid Contract. Please note that firms may have one or more office and may hold a contract to provide civil legal aid, criminal legal or both civil and criminal legal aid services. This data is correct as at 10 February 2022. The Legal Aid Agency frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country and moves quickly to secure additional provision where necessary.

Family Courts: Standards

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the backlog is in the number of family court cases; and what that number was on average in each of the last five years.

James Cartlidge: We have published data on the outstanding caseloads in the family courts since March 2018, which are available here. In November 2021, the outstanding caseload in public family law stood at 21,200 cases, roughly 3% lower than it was at the same period in 2020. In 2021, up to November, average monthly disposals were roughly 300 more per month than 2020. In November 2021, the outstanding caseload in private family law stood at 83,600 cases, roughly 13% higher than it was at the same period in 2020, but below the August 2021 peak of 85,115. In 2021, up to November, monthly disposals were on average 1,000 more per month than 2020. We are continuing to take action to address the outstanding caseload in the family courts. We invested £250 million to support recovery in our courts in the last financial year (20/21). This included £76 million to increase our capacity to hear cases in the family and civil courts, as well as in tribunals. We also sat to our highest ever level in the family courts in 2020 – 54,830 days in public law and 71,832 days in private law. This is 9% higher than we sat in 2019 for public law and 5% higher than we sat in 2019 for private law. We have over 700 courtrooms open across civil and family justice that can safely hold face-to-face hearings, and an additional 250 rooms available for virtual hearings. We have also launched the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme in March 2021 for parents seeking to resolve disputes outside of court.We have recently announced the extension of 30 Nightingale court rooms, which include three family court rooms at Former County Court, Telford, two at Maple House, Birmingham and two at Former Magistrates’ Court, Fleetwood.

Courts: Security

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what percentage of courts in England are equipped with secure docks for holding defendants.

James Cartlidge: As at 31 January 2022, of the 2,318 permanent and temporary courtrooms in England, 990 are criminal courtrooms (Crown and Magistrates’ Courts and those of the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division). Of these, 575 (58%) contain secure docks. The safety of staff, judiciary and court users is the top priority for HM Courts and Tribunals Service and we always make sure defendants are in secure docks when this is assessed as necessary.

Juries: Protective Clothing

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to remove the requirement for face coverings to be worn in courts by people completing jury service.

James Cartlidge: The announcement of the ‘Living With Covid’ strategy means all Covid-related restrictions across the courts in England and Wales have been reviewed, and will be removed as quickly as possible. There is no longer a requirement to wear a face covering in our buildings in England and Wales. This applies both to staff offices, and to the public parts of our courts and tribunals. While the requirement has now been removed, government guidance still recommends wearing a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces, especially where you are likely to come into contact with people you don’t normally meet.We expect to be able to confirm what (if any) other measures will remain beyond April, which is when existing Government guidance on workplace/venue safety will be replaced. For the interim period, however, jurors who are using certain deliberation rooms assessed as too small to use without protection of fluid resistant face masks will continue to be asked to wear those masks in those areas of our buildings. This reflects ongoing Public Health advice, which we continue to observe so as to ensure both safety of all using our buildings, and public confidence in those safety standards.

Treasury

Blockchain

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will take steps with the Financial Conduct Authority to ensure that securities issued on blockchain can be clearly distinguished from crypto asset service providers.

John Glen: Under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, a cryptoasset business will be required to register with the Financial Conduct Authority if it is a firm or sole practitioner that provides cryptoasset exchange or custodian wallet services by way of business. Securities are financial instruments giving rise to claims against the issuer, and are not businesses in and of themselves. Therefore, although a cryptoasset business may issue securities on the blockchain that confer an ownership interest in the business, these securities would be legally distinct from the business itself.

Cryptocurrencies

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an estimate of the revenue that the digital assets sector could potentially bring to the public purse.

John Glen: The Government is committed to a global leadership in fintech and to creating a regulatory environment for digital assets in which firms can innovate, while allowing people to use new technologies both reliably and safely. The Cryptoassets Taskforce, consisting of HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is exploring the impact of cryptoassets, the potential benefits and challenges of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in financial services; as well as assessing what, if any, regulation is required in response. Businesses trading in or using digital assets are taxed on their trading profits. Where a person realises chargeable gains from increases in value of digital assets, capital gains tax (CGT) or Corporation Tax on Chargeable Gains may be due. If CGT applies, only chargeable gains above the Annual Exempt Amount are taxed.

UK Infrastructure Bank

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits including (a) the built environment and (b) nature in the UK Infrastructure Bank’s mandate.

John Glen: As set out in its Framework Document, the UK Infrastructure Bank will pursue two strategic objectives: to help tackle climate change, particularly meeting our net zero emissions target by 2050; and to support regional and local economic growth. The Bank will operate across a range of sectors, but will prioritise in particular clean energy, transport, digital, water, and waste;The Bank’s Policy Design Document sets out that while the Bank’s initial focus will be on climate change mitigation and resilience, the Government will review the case for broadening this to include other areas, such as improving the UK’s natural capital, before bringing forward legislation to put the Bank on a statutory footing.

Pensions: Advisory Services

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he will take to help ensure the availability of affordable professional financial advice for those with defined benefit pension schemes who wish to explore transferring their pension to (a) an alternative investment vehicle or (b) a drawdown facility.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits to holders of defined benefit schemes of being required to obtain financial advice before transferring their pension.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the availability of financial advisers who are licensed to provide advice on transferring defined benefit pensions.

John Glen: The Government is committed to ensuring that consumers can access high-quality, affordable and suitable financial advice, as well as free-to-access financial guidance, when they need it. HM Treasury works closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are the independent regulator of the financial advice market.The Government introduced a requirement for members of pension schemes with safeguarded benefits, such as defined-benefit (DB) schemes or those with a guaranteed annuity rate, to take independent financial advice before accessing their pension pot flexibly, where the total value of the member’s benefits exceeds £30,000. This is because these schemes offer a high level of security and, in some cases, valuable guarantees that should not be relinquished without fully understanding the risks of doing so. Therefore, it is important that consumers receive suitable advice to ensure the implications of a pension transfer are clear to them before proceeding with a decision to transfer. Whilst we recognise concerns about the cost of obtaining this advice, the level and structure of advisory fees is a commercial decision for advisersand the FCA do not have a remit from Parliament to regulate the way in which financial advice firms price their services. However, the FCA expects firms to consider whether the advice they give is likely to be of value to the customer, once the total charges they are likely to pay are taken into account. The FCA and HM Treasury are working closely to monitor the situation around DB pension transfer advice. At the start of February 2022, there were 1160 advice firms able to give pension transfer advice. Since 2015, the FCA have identified numerous instances of unsuitable advice being given, putting at risk pensioners’ financial security. In response, the FCA have intervened extensively to improve DB transfer advice, investigating the firms involved and taking enforcement action where necessary. The FCA recognise that these actions have led to an increase in the cost of professional indemnity insurance for advisers who give DB transfer advice. As a result, some firms are choosing not to offer pension transfer advice and others are charging more, due to the cost of the insurance premiums. Nevertheless, the FCA and the Government believe that it is vital consumers receive suitable advice in this market, considering the long-term financial implications of a pension transfer, and continue to monitor the situation closely.

Pensions: Advisory Services

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislation proposals that prevent financial advisers from changing their recommendations on the benefits of transferring a defined benefit pension scheme, dependent on whether that adviser is likely to financially benefit from a product.

John Glen: HM Treasury works closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are the independent regulator of the UK’s financial advice market, to ensure that this market works well, competitively and fairly for both firms and consumers, and that the advice being provided is of high quality. Since 2015, the FCA have consulted on and made several changes to their rules around pension transfer advice. This reflects their commitment to delivering on their consumer protection and market integrity objectives by taking strong and robust action to raise the standard of the advice consumers receive. The FCA do not tell firms what advice to give their clients but expect firms to give personal recommendations that are in the best interests of their clients, by considering each client’s individual circumstances based on the most recently provided evidence.On 1 October 2020, new FCA rules came into effect to ensure costs and charges are clearly disclosed and that charges are not contingent on a positive recommendation to transfer. This removes any incentives for an advice firm to act in their own interests, rather than their client’s, and places a value on professional advice, regardless of whether it results in a transaction.

Pensioners: Cost of Living

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support he will put in place for people of pensionable age to meet rising costs of living.

John Glen: he Government is committed to ensuring that older people are able to live with the dignity and respect they deserve, and the State Pension is the foundation of state support for older people. Over the last two years, the basic and new State Pension have increased by more than 5.6%. This means that from April, the full yearly amount of the basic State Pension will be around £720 more in 2022/23 than if it had been up-rated by prices since 2010. That’s a rise of over £2,300 in cash terms. In total, the Government is forecast to spend around £105 billion on the State Pension, and around £130 billion on overall benefits for pensioners in 2021/22. The Government is also providing support worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next that will help households, including pensioners, with rising living costs. This includes the £9.1 billion package announced this February to help with energy bills. Our generous package includes a non-repayable £150 council tax rebate from April and a further reduction of £200 on energy bills in October. The £200 reduction in households’ energy bills from October will help people manage the increase in energy bills by spreading the increased costs over a few years, so they are more manageable for households. This is on top of existing support available to pensioners through Pension Credit, Winter Fuel Payments, the Warm Home Discount Scheme, and Cold Weather Payments.

Financial Services: Environment Protection

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of shareholder stewardship on tackling claims of greenwashing in the financial sector.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has had recent discussions with the finance sector on (a) increasing and (b) improving shareholder stewardship.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to encourage the introduction of sustainable investment products.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's plans are for further issuances of the Green Gilt.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help encourage the introduction of sustainable finance retail products.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to introduce guidance to local authorities on local climate bonds.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of green mortgages on energy efficiency home improvements.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made on developing a framework for nature-related financial disclosures.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential role of private finance in supporting nature projects.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the involvement of scientific (a) evidence and (b) expertise in the development of the UK's Green Taxonomy.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made on developing the UK’s Green Taxonomy.

John Glen: In October 2021 the Government published Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing. This sets out the Government’s expectation that asset managers, asset owners and their service providers will act as responsible stewards of capital by using information disclosed via the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements to engage with investee companies. The Government has an active and ongoing dialogue with the sector on this. The Roadmap also includes policies to prevent greenwashing such as the UK Green Taxonomy. This will take an objective and science-based approach to determining which economic activities are environmentally sustainable. To support this, the Government has created a Green Technical Advisory Group to provide independent advice on market, regulatory and scientific considerations. Last year the UK successfully launched its green financing programme, under which it issues green gilts. Future financing plans for 2022-23, including for the green gilt, will be announced in the usual way in the Debt Management Office’s financing remit at the forthcoming Spring Forecast. In October 2021, the Government launched its first green retail product through NS&I – Green Savings Bonds (GSB). GSB provides savers with the opportunity to contribute towards green projects chosen by the Government, as set out in the Green Finance Framework. Local authorities have full, independent control over their borrowing choices and are free to issue local climate bonds if they wish. It is for them to determine the most appropriate financing mechanism for their projects. The Government considers current funding options for local authorities to pursue environmental projects to be appropriate, and that existing statutory guidance is sufficient for outlining options for local authorities with regards to financial borrowing. This includes issuing local climate bonds, an option which some local authorities have taken up. Decarbonisation of the housing stock will be crucial to the UK achieving Net Zero. Home finance can provide the financial means for homeowners and landlords to undertake home energy efficiency improvements. The Government released a consultation in November 2020 on the role mortgage lenders can play in supporting homeowners to improve their home’s energy performance, and recently announced a £10m Green Finance Accelerator programme to support the development of innovative green finance products. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of green finance products on the market, with the release of over thirty green mortgage products in the last two years. The Government will continue to work with mortgage lenders to encourage further development of green mortgage products. HMG’s 25 Year Environment Plan and Green Finance Strategy are clear that private finance has a key role to play in achieving our environmental ambitions. This is why the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 set an ambitious new target to raise at least £500m in private finance to support nature’s recovery every year by 2027 in England, rising to more than £1bn by 2030. Supported by the Government from its inception, the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) will provide a framework for corporates and financial institutions to report and act on evolving nature-related risks. TNFD will build, consult on and test its framework, which it aims to launch in 2023. As part of its response to the Dasgupta Review, the Government committed up to £3m additional support to the development of the TNFD framework.

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

Matt Vickers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposals published in the Alcohol Tax Review on the UK-Australia free trade agreement.

Helen Whately: The Government does not anticipate alcohol duty reforms to impact the UK-Australia free trade deal. All products will be taxed on the basis of strength. Therefore, Australian producers will pay the same tax rates as producers in every other country, including the UK.The Treasury is continuing to engage with stakeholders, including the Australian Government, on these proposals, and will continue to keep those impacted updated on the progress of our review.

Alcoholic Drinks: Production

Matt Vickers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate the Government has made of the relative cost of production for (a) wine, (b) beer, (c) cider and (d) spirits.

Helen Whately: The Treasury considers production costs complex to estimate, as different businesses will have different business models, impacting production costs. Officials have received data from some stakeholders who have chosen to share this information, however given the commercial sensitivity of it, the Government is not in a position to share it publicly. A consultation on the alcohol duty review ran from 27 October to 30 January, and the Treasury is now in the process of analysing responses. We will continue to monitor the economic impact of our reforms, and welcome feedback from stakeholders on this point.

Treasury: Coronavirus

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department and its agencies remove all internal covid-19 related policies, restrictions and mask mandates.

Helen Whately: Throughout the pandemic, the Treasury has followed government guidance in setting out its internal COVID-19 related policies. The Treasury continues to follow this guidance and align its policies accordingly.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Sudan: Food Supply

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of levels of food insecurity in Sudan.

Vicky Ford: Food security in Sudan continues to decline, with the UN estimating that 9.8 million people will face acute food insecurity in 2022, a 30% increase since 2020. To help address this the UK remains a leading donor, having provided approximately 1.2 million people with life-saving assistance, such as food, drinking water, sanitation and shelter in 2021. Food insecurity is also impacted by the current political and economic crisis in Sudan, for which we continue to push for a resolution with a return to the democratic transition and economic reforms.

Development Aid: Females

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to FCDO's Work and Opportunities for Women Programme, published on 21 March 2018, what evaluation her Department has made of the impact and value for public money of (a) the innovations in informal land tenure awareness, rights and security for the economic empowerment of informal women workers in Delhi and Patna project, (b) the accelerating national progress toward achieving equality in unpaid care and domestic work and promoting women’s economic empowerment project and (c) the home-based Workers Organizing for Economic Empowerment project.

Vicky Ford: The Work and Opportunities for Women (WOW) Programme is the FCDO's flagship central programme on women's economic empowerment. Work has included partnerships with private businesses and work with grassroots organisations.The FCDO's annual reviews have found that its performance has fully met expectations including in advancing women's land tenure security in Patna and Delhi. Initiatives have included launching housing finance and livelihood regeneration loans, providing financial literacy and digital training modules; and improving conditions of home based workers in Africa and South Asia. WoW's published reports 'The Double Day' and 'Unpaid and unrecognised: How business can realise the benefits of tackling women's invisible labour' contribute valuable knowledge to businesses on unequal and unpaid work and care. To date (since 2016 ) WOW has reached over 100,000 women across South Asia and Africa, providing them with improved access to higher productivity and higher return jobs; more diversified roles and improved working conditions in global value chains.

Sanctions

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has a strategic framework for the application of sanctions against hostile states relating to the (a) types of sanctions deployable and (b) escalation plan for those sanctions.

Vicky Ford: The Government uses our sanctions regimes as part of an integrated approach to promote our values and interests, and to combat state threats, terrorism, cyber-attacks, and the use and proliferation of chemical weapons. We have already put in place the largest package of sanctions in our history in response to Russia's unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine. The UK's sanctions have been strategically coordinated with international allies to impose a severe cost on Putin and his regime. We have agreed that the vast majority of Russian banks will be removed from SWIFT. Our collective action against Russia's Central Bank will prevent them from deploying their international reserves to mitigate the impact of our sanctions. As the Foreign Secretary announced to the House on 28 February, the Government laid two new pieces of sanctions legislation, including powers to prevent Russian banks from clearing payments in sterling and legislation that will ban exports to Russia across a range of critical sectors. More legislation will follow in the coming weeks to sanction Russian-occupied territories in the Donbas, extend more sanctions to Belarus, and limit Russian deposits in UK banks.The government has also brought forward the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The new legislation will help the National Crime Agency prevent foreign owners from laundering their money in UK property.We will continue to ratchet up the pressure on Putin and his war of choice.

Russia: Diplomatic Relations

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she took before 24 February 2022 to deter Russia from invading Ukraine.

James Cleverly: As the Prime Minister made clear in his statement to Parliament on 25 January, we are working with Allies and partners to challenge Russia's threatening behaviour, and to make clear the severe costs to Russia of any further military incursion. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba on 4 January, ahead of joining an extraordinary meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers on 7 January. She met the NATO Secretary General in Brussels on 24 January, and spoke to US Secretary of State Blinken on 25 January and German Foreign Minister Baerbock on 28 January. I [Minister Cleverly] attended the NATO Russia Council on 12 January, and discussed Ukraine with the US, French and German Foreign Ministers in Berlin on 20 January. Former Minister of Europe, Chris Heaton-Harris, spoke to the Deputy Foreign Ministers of Poland and Ukraine on 18 January and the Ukrainian Ambassador to London on 27 January. The Foreign Secretary has also engaged in recent weeks with other Allies, including Poland, Slovakia and Turkey.

Belarus: Sanctions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if her Department will impose sanctions on Belarus for its involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

James Cleverly: It is clear that Belarus has been complicit in this unprovoked invasion on Ukraine and that they have chosen to look away as democracy is attacked. On 1 March, the Foreign Secretary launched a first tranche of sanctions against Belarusian individuals and organisations in response to the role the country is playing in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including facilitating the invasion from within its borders. Four senior defence officials and 2 military enterprises have been sanctioned with immediate effect under the UK's Russia sanctions regime.

Wagner Group

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government is taking steps to degrade Russian influence in other nations obtained through the services those nations have procured from the Wagner Group.

James Cleverly: The Prime Minister and other leaders have agreed to work in unity to maximise the economic price that Putin will pay for his aggression. On 24 February, the UK announced the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions that Russia has ever seen. It sent a clear message that the UK will use its economic heft to inflict pain on Russia and degrade its strategic interests.

British Nationals Abroad: Afghanistan

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many British nationals remain in Afghanistan as of 23 February 2022; and what plans her Department has to assist with repatriation efforts.

James Cleverly: It remains very difficult to give an exact figure of how many British nationals remain in Afghanistan. The situation is fluid with numbers of British nationals entering and leaving all the time. Some British nationals have chosen to remain in Afghanistan. We encourage all British nationals in Afghanistan to sign up to and check FCDO Travel Advice updates and confirm their presence on the online registration system. British nationals can continue to access remote consular assistance on a 24/7 basis.The FCDO has assisted British Nationals to leave Afghanistan when safe options are available such as Qatar Government sponsored charter flights.British nationals who are in possession of valid passports, and their immediate Afghan family dependants (spouse and children under 18) who hold valid UK visas, or UK residency permits, are eligible to travel on Qatari Government chartered flights from Kabul to Doha.FCDO Travel Advice notes other commercial flight options are available to regional capitals and encourages people to check safety notices published by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Ukraine: British Nationals Abroad

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support the Government is providing to help (a) Black and Asian and (b) other British nationals to leave Ukraine.

James Cleverly: The British Embassy office in Kyiv has temporarily relocated to Lviv. In-person consular services in Lviv are extremely limited and may be further affected by Russian military action. FCDO Rapid Deployment Teams have been deployed to neighbouring countries to support British nationals in need of consular assistance and the UK is committed to the principle of non-discrimination on any grounds, including on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or race. A full range of assistance is available in these countries.British nationals still in Ukraine should register their presence with the FCDO and follow FCDO Travel Advice. Any British nationals who require consular assistance in Ukraine should call our 24 hour helpline: +44 (0) 1908 516666 or +380 44 490 3660.

South Sudan: Human Rights

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to support the continued work of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan; and if she will make a statement.

Vicky Ford: The UK has been a firm and consistent supporter for the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan as an essential part of monitoring the situation and delivering improvements. We continue to urge the Government of South Sudan to tackle human rights violations and to implement their commitments, including through implementation of the 2018 Peace Agreement. At the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) we will lead efforts to maintain human rights scrutiny and support for South Sudan, including through the work of the Commission on Human Rights. The UK will also use the HRC session to press for robust monitoring and reporting on the situation in South Sudan to continue, as part of understanding the scale of the challenge and need for international attention and support.

South Sudan: Press Freedom

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the government of South Sudan on press freedom following the detention of journalists covering a media briefing by legislators on 22 February 2022.

Vicky Ford: We are concerned by the detention of eight journalists and civil society activists during a press conference hosted by a Member of Parliament in Juba on 22 February. Freedom of expression has an essential role to play in the establishment of peace and stability in South Sudan. We engage with the Government of South Sudan to urge them to protect human rights and to ensure that journalists, human rights activists and civil society are free to operate without fear of retribution. We regularly raise the importance of freedom of expression both publicly and privately. In support of the UK's Media Freedom Campaign we also provide assistance to journalists, including those detained or harassed by the government, and media associations in South Sudan.

Development Aid: Females

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to increase the scale of the Work and Opportunities for Women Programme in 2022.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government will continue to prioritise women and girls across all our foreign and development work. No decisions on funding for specific organisations or programmes in 2022/23 have yet been made to date as we are currently completing a review of future priorities in the light of the Spending Review settlement. Decisions on allocations will be published in the summer as part of the Annual Review.

Somalia: Children

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations she has made to the Federal Government of Somalia on the treatment by (a) civil and (b) military judicial institutions of children who have been abused as soldiers by militant groups.

Vicky Ford: The UK supports child protection services in Somalia through partners such as UNICEF. In 2021, UK funding supported community-based awareness raising for approximately 30,000 people, to strengthen the protective environment for children and women. Through the British Embassy in Mogadishu, the UK has raised its concerns about the vulnerabilities of children in armed conflict in Somalia and, at the UNICEF-led Group of Friends of Children Affected by Armed Conflict (CAAC) meeting in late 2021, underlined the need for a proactive approach towards protection. The UK has also engaged Somalia's Ministry of Education on policy and guidelines for implementation of Somalia's commitment to the Safe Schools Declaration. This policy will soon go to Parliament for ratification, and outlines actions to provide safe spaces where child victims of attacks on schools or recruitment by armed forces can receive legal, medical and psychological support.

Sudan: Women's Rights

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with Sudanese authorities on the protection of (a) the life of Amiera Osman and (b) other women's rights activists and c) women's rights activists from arbitrary arrested.

Vicky Ford: Women were a major driver behind the 2019 protests that fought so bravely for democracy. I met a number of inspirational women leaders, social reformers and entrepreneurs during a visit to Sudan in October 2021. The UK continues to stand with them and are concerned by continued violent repression of Sudanese protesters and civil society, including women. While we are pleased at the news that Amiera Osman has been released, she should not have been detained in the first place. Since the coup, we have consistently called for an end to all arbitrary detentions and human rights violations, and for Sudanese people to be able to protest without fear of violence. This includes statements the Foreign Secretary and I have made, and at UN Human Rights Council, the UN Security Council and G7 Foreign and Development Ministers meeting. With our international partners we will continue to show our support for a return to the democratic transition and maintain pressure on the Sudanese military to deliver people's demands for freedom, peace and justice.

Droughts: Somalia

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Somalia Drought Situation Report No. 4, published by UN OCHA on 20 February 2022, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the increase in the number of people (a) internally displaced and (b) affected by the severe drought between December 2021 and February 2022.

Vicky Ford: The UK has provided an additional £14.5 million to respond to the extreme drought in Somalia in 2022, which is targeted at those in urgent need, including those who have been displaced. UK officials continue to work with the international community and Government of Somalia to deliver a scaled-up response to increasing needs.

Ethiopia and Sudan: Human Rights

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department plans to take steps at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council to press for greater human rights protections and accountability in (a) Ethiopia and (b) Sudan; and if she will make a statement.

Vicky Ford: The protection of all civilians needs to be prioritised, human rights respected and those responsible for human rights abuses and violations held to account. At a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) on 17 December 2021, we supported and voted in favour of an EU-led resolution on Ethiopia which created an International Commission of Experts. This included a mandate to investigate allegations of violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law and international refugee law committed in Ethiopia, by all parties to the conflict.We continue to call for justice and accountability for the victims of human rights abuses and violations, including through the International Commission of Experts and the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce set up by the Ethiopian Government. The 49th HRC Session will also hear the initial findings of the UN Expert on Human Rights in Sudan, Adama Dieng, who was mandated to report on the situation in Sudan since the coup, following UK leadership to secure an HRC resolution on Sudan in November 2021. As part of these discussions we will continue to call for accountability for violations and abuses and maintain pressure on the Sudanese military to protect human rights. We will also continue to engage fully in the ongoing UN-facilitated talks to reach a solution that leads to the restoration of civilian-led government, and meet the demands of the people of Sudan for freedom, peace and justice.

Tigray: Humanitarian Aid

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Northern Ethiopia Humanitarian Update Situation Report, published by UN OCHA on 17 February 2022, what recent steps she has taken to enable humanitarian partners in the Tigray region of Ethiopia to access fuel to enable delivery of supplies across the region.

Vicky Ford: The situation report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) dated 17 February 2022 makes clear the critical shortage of fuel and other essential commodities in Tigray and consequently how relief operations across the region have come to a standstill.Since the start of the conflict in early November 2021 the UK has been consistent in calling for unfettered humanitarian access so that life-saving supplies as well as fuel can be delivered. On my visit to Addis Ababa on 20 January 2022 I discussed the clear need for an urgent improvement in humanitarian access with the Government of Ethiopia, including in my meeting with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. All parties to the conflict must facilitate free and unrestricted access for humanitarian goods and personnel in-line with international humanitarian law.

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she plans to take to support the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention with its planned transition to become a public health agency with greater administrative autonomy from the African Union Commission by July 2022.

Vicky Ford: The UK is supporting the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) by providing financial and technical assistance. We have provided £20 million to the African Union (AU)/Africa CDC's Covid-19 response fund. The UK Public Health Security Agency (UKPHSA) has one full time adviser embedded in Africa CDC and the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team has four technical experts working remotely with Africa CDC to support the AU's COVID-19 response. In addition, the DHSC/UKPHSA New Variant Assessment Platform is providing technical support to build Africa CDC's genomic sequencing capability as a regional centre for genomic sequencing. The UK is also providing technical assistance to support the AU/Africa CDC's Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing to implement a roadmap for African vaccine manufacturing. I plan to meet the Director of Africa CDC, Dr John Nkengasong, again later this month and will discuss UK support to Africa CDC and its transition to an autonomous Health Agency.

Africa: Money Laundering

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference the sixth European Union - African Union Summit statement, entitled A Joint Vision for 2030, on 18 February, what steps her Department is taking to support the African Union in its efforts to tackle illicit financial flows.

Vicky Ford: We have a regular dialogue with the African Union (AU) about tackling illicit financial flows. This aims to ensure complementarity between their activity on illicit financial flows in Africa and the UK strategy set out in the Economic Crime Plan. The FCDO provides support and advice to host Governments, the private sector, and civil society across the continent - working both through UN agencies and through a network of Countering Illicit Finance Policy Advisors in key financial centres in Africa. At the request of host Governments, the HMT Technical Assistance Unit supports Financial Intelligence Units with building anti-money laundering/combatting the financing of terrorism capacity in Official Development Assistance eligible countries in response to recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The National Crime Agency provides capacity building in host Governments by supporting case work and mentoring on issues related to economic crime and corruption.

Sri Lanka: Human Rights

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans her Department has to ask the (a) International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism or (b) International Criminal Court to conduct an international investigation in Sri Lanka when UN Resolution 46/1 on Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, expires.

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if her Department will consult Tamil representatives including in Sri Lanka on potential next steps on UN Resolution 46/1 on Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.

Vicky Ford: The UK led efforts at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March 2021 to adopt Resolution 46/1. We continue to support engagement between the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Government of Sri Lanka on reconciliation, accountability and human rights.The Minister for South and Central Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed the importance of these issues with representatives of the Sri Lankan government and wider stakeholders, including representatives of Tamil communities, during his visit to Sri Lanka in January 2022 when he travelled to Jaffna and Trincomalee as well as Colombo.

Cameroon: Human Rights

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department plans to take steps at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council to work with other state members to help tackle the human rights crisis in Cameroon on the need for (a) accountability for attacks by separatist fighters on teachers and school children, (b) accountability for attacks on civilians by government forces and (c) an end to attacks on members of the LGBTQ+ community by government security forces; and if she will make a statement.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government remains deeply concerned about the crisis in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon, including the disturbing reports of human rights abuses and violations by both armed separatists and the security forces.We work with international partners, including France and the United States, to raise the crisis in multilateral fora. At the UN Human Rights Council in September, the UK called for an end to violence and impartial investigations to hold the perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses to account. We continue to regularly raise specific human rights concerns with the Government of Cameroon. We also urge the Government to remain engaged with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Africa: Poliomyelitis

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she is taking steps to help ensure that Africa remains free of circulating wild-type poliovirus following the discovery of a case in Malawi in February 2022.

Vicky Ford: As part of the response to this the recently detected case in Malawi, Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) will vaccinate 22 million children across 4 countries to boost population immunity and prevent the spread of the virus. They are also increasing surveillance capacity in the region to detect any further cases. In addition to our longstanding support at a global level to GPEI, the UK is a strong partner to the Malawi Health Sector, including through our health systems strengthening programme which has a component aimed at building preparedness and response to health shocks such as disease outbreaks.We are continuing to monitor the situation closely and will work with GPEI, the Malawi Ministry of Health and partners on the ground to ensure a timely and thorough response to this outbreak and we await the findings of the investigation into this case.

Kizito Mihigo

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Rwandan Government on the requirement for a credible and independent investigation into the death of Kizito Mihigo on 13 February 2020.

Vicky Ford: The UK has expressed concerns about the circumstances of the death of Kizito Mihigo in February 2020 both in public and in private, and urged a prompt, independent and transparent investigation by the Rwandan authorities. During the UN's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of human rights in Rwanda in 2021, the UK Government also recommended that Rwanda conduct transparent, credible and independent investigations into allegations of human rights violations, including deaths in custody. We discuss these issues with the Government of Rwanda through our High Commission in Kigali and at Ministerial level, most recently in January 2022. The UK encourages Rwanda to uphold and champion Commonwealth values of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights.

Ministry of Defence

Defence Equipment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason his Department decided not to undertake a Defence Capability Assessment Register assessment in 2022 as part of its Equipment Plan.

Jeremy Quin: The Defence Capability Assessment Register (DCAR) provides a long term view of relative capability risks (and strengths) against delivery of the full range of Defence tasks. The policy, priorities and outcomes for Defence changed as a result of the Integrated Review and we had to update the DCAR last year to reflect the new policy which was set out in more detail in the Defence Command Paper.The DCAR process is being conducted this year against the new policy priorities.

ISTAR

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide details of the reprofiling of spending on ISTAR, as outlined in the Defence and Equipment Plan.

Jeremy Quin: Defence is currently renewing its ISR Strategy. One output of this work will be to ensure that the balance of planned investments across the Defence ISR enterprise will deliver a capable, resilient, and adaptive ISR system.

Platinum Jubilee 2022: Medals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason Platinum Jubilee medals are to be awarded to people in service at the time of the Platinum Jubilee and not veterans.

Leo Docherty: The Platinum Jubilee medal is a commemoration of Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee and only personnel Serving on the 6 February 2022, the seventieth anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen's accession, are eligible. This follows the precedent of previous Jubilee medals. The medal is commemorative and not intended as a recognition of past Service and is not an award for either long or valuable Service, which are recognised in other ways.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to launch a new recruitment programme for the armed forces in response to the situation in Ukraine.

Leo Docherty: The Armed Forces continue to meet all their current commitments, keeping the country and its interests safe, and the Government remains committed to ensuring that this country has the world class Armed Forces that it needs and deserves.Military workforce levels are set in line with capability requirements, as set out in the Integrated Review/Defence Plan, and are reviewed on this basis. The Integrated Review and subsequent Defence Plan consider a wide range of factors including global geopolitics, intelligence, and future technologies. These levels take into account the time required to recruit and train personnel, as well as the skills that will be required and the technology that will be available. Recruitment targets are subsequently set to ensure Defence recruits the right number of people to fulfil the roles required to deliver Defence outputs as set out in the Defence Plan.

Department for Work and Pensions

Early Retirement: Menopause

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential economic effect of workers taking early retirement as a result of menopause.

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support she is providing to employers to help women considering leaving the workforce due to symptoms of menopause.

Mims Davies: No assessment has been made on the economic impact of the menopause, but by retiring at 63 instead of 55, a female average earner that took a 10-year career break could have £180,000 extra income and might increase her pension pot by 50%. Too many women feel forced either to leave work, reduce their hours, or take a step back in their careers, because of the menopause. That is why we asked the 50+ roundtable of employer organisations to look at menopause and employment, emphasising the importance of the provision of support by employers. An independent report is now published which the Government will respond to. The Women’s Health Strategy will have menopause as a priority, and the UK wide Menopause task force will take a holistic approach to menopause care from healthcare to workplace support and education, enabling national coverage which will provide benefits at a local level. Our 37 district 50PLUS Champions provide a local response, reinforcing Jobcentre Plus’s commitment to supporting over 50s claimants find and stay in work by sharing the benefits of employing over 50s to employers. Our champions utilise their knowledge and local links to support Work Coaches and employers to understand the characteristics of our customers and the issues that may affect them such as the impact of the menopause, helping them retain women’s skills and expertise.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report by NatCen Social Research on The Uses of Health and Disability Benefits.

Chloe Smith: The headline findings from the Uses of Health and Disability Benefits research give an insight into how health and disability benefits are used by recipients alongside other sources of provision and support to meet health and disability related needs. We are currently considering a range of policy options, drawing on wide evidence, research, analysis and the responses to the Green Paper consultation. We will bring forward our proposals in our Health and Disability White Paper due later this year.

Social Security Benefits: Multiple Sclerosis

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the rising cost of living on the adequacy of (a) personal independence payments and (b) universal credit for people with fluctuating conditions including Multiple Sclerosis.

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will increase disability benefit payments in line with inflation.

Chloe Smith: The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) is the main measure of UK inflation. CPI in the year to September (published by the Office for National Statistics in October) is the latest figure that the Secretary of State can use to allow sufficient time for the required legislative and operational changes before new rates can be introduced at the start of the new financial year. From April 2022 benefits and pensions will increase by 3.1%, in line with the CPI. Disability benefits are not means–tested, non-contributory and thus paid regardless of any income or savings. PIP and DLA were not subject to the benefits freeze.

Social Security Benefits: Multiple Sclerosis

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the disability benefits assessment process for people  with progressive and fluctuating conditions including Multiple Sclerosis.

Chloe Smith: The Health and Disability Green Paper explored how we can improve assessments, including how they capture the impact of fluctuating conditions and how we reduce unnecessary assessments for people whose conditions are unlikely to improve. We are now analysing the over 4,500 responses we received and will be bringing forward a White Paper with detailed proposals later this year.

Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to support legacy benefit recipients who have been financially impacted by the covid-19 pandemic.

David Rutley: Since the start of the pandemic, DWP has spent over £11.9bn to help families by investing in additional welfare and employment support. From 24 March, the COVID-19 provisions in the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) regulations will end. There are no other remaining legacy benefit provisions relating to COVID-19, but a wide range of benefits and other support is available to people who are receiving legacy benefits, subject to the normal conditions of entitlement.The Government is committed to supporting families most in need, spending billions more on welfare and planning a long-term route out of poverty, by helping people to increase their hours in employment or to find new work through our Plan for Jobs and the new Way to Work campaign.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Water: Conservation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote water saving measures to ensure that water use is conserved, particularly by people living in poverty, to reduce the cost of water bills.

Rebecca Pow: On 1 July 2021 we published a Written Ministerial Statement setting out measures that we will take forward to empower households to reduce their water consumption. In areas classified as being in water stress by the Environment Agency (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-stressed-areas-2021-classification) local authorities can require new housing to be built to 110 litres per person per day. Most water companies already offer free water efficiency audits as part of their affordability measures, to help households reduce their water demand and therefore their bills. Water companies are also actively promoting the full range of their support measures to help households struggling to pay their bills. These includes bill discount schemes such as Watersure and social tariffs, payment holidays, adjusting payment plans and getting support for customers on managing their personal finances.

Water: Meters

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure all eligible people are able to benefit from a water meter.

Rebecca Pow: Water customers can opt for a water meter. Water companies in seriously water stressed areas (Water stressed areas – 2021 classification - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) may implement wider water metering programmes where it is shown within their Water Resources Management Plans that there is customer support and it is cost effective to do so.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Social Media

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in his Department are managing ministerial social media accounts as either (a) their primary responsibility or (b) as part of their role.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has spent on producing social media videos and graphics for use on ministerial social media accounts since January 2020.

Victoria Prentis: We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests. In addition to the Civil Service Code, the Government Communications Service offers propriety in digital and social media guidance and is available to discuss questions relating to social media when working with ministers. Defra employs an in-house social media team to use digital channels and create content to communicate departmental policies online. It is often appropriate for content relating to Government policies, guidance and announcements, created by civil servants, to be amplified or posted on other channels including ministers' own social media accounts where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.

Pets: Imports

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to improve the (a) accuracy and (b) transparency of data collected by the UK Government on the importation of pets.

Victoria Prentis: The information that we provide is a true reflection of the information that we have access to. The data regarding the Pet Travel Scheme covers pets entering Great Britain and is based on information provided by checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals. Every month carriers complete and submit spreadsheets detailing their throughput broken down by species, document type, non-compliance data and whether or not it is an assistance animal. This is the data recorded on the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) system. Where necessary APHA ensures that carriers provide this information in a timely manner.

Food Supply

Gareth Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the National Food Strategy white paper; and whether that white paper will assess the impact of solar farm developments on agricultural land.

Victoria Prentis: We expect to publish the Government Food Strategy shortly. The Strategy will set out the Government's ambition and priorities for the food system, considering the evidence set out in Henry Dimbleby's independent review last year. The white paper will not include an assessment of the impacts of solar farm developments on agricultural land.

Waste Disposal

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on (a) implementing the Resource and Waste Strategy and (b) developing a fly-tipping toolkit.

Jo Churchill: (a) We publish annual monitoring and evaluation reports on our objectives set out in the Resources and Waste Strategy, which are available online via GOV.uk.[1] (b) We have worked with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to develop the first part of the fly-tipping toolkit, a guide to help local authorities and others present robust cases to court as a means of securing tougher sentences. We intend to publish this shortly. [1] Resources and waste strategy for England: monitoring and evaluation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Plastics: Recycling

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken to increase the availability of kerbside recycling of (a) plastic film and (b) other soft plastics.

Jo Churchill: The Government wants to see a significant increase in the recycling of plastic film and flexible packaging and are delivering measures to support this.In the 2021 consultation on Consistency in Household and Business recycling in England, we proposed local authorities be required to collect recyclable plastic films from households be no later than the end of 2026/27. We will publish our Government response to the consultation in due course.We have also taken steps to boost the market for plastic recycling – delivering the conditions for further private sector investment. The Plastic Packaging Tax comes in from April and will see a charge of £200 per tonne on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content. This measure is already driving significant demand for plastics for recycling, which in turn supports important interim measures such as retailer-led front of store collections of plastic films. This work, alongside other measures such as restrictions on single-use plastics, Extended Producer Responsibility and the Deposit Return Scheme, supports the delivery of our 25 Year Environment Plan target of ending all avoidable plastic waste.

Home Office

Immigration Controls: Agriculture and Shipping

Kelly Tolhurst: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Points Based Immigration System on the (a) workboat sector and (b) agricultural sector.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Ukraine

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has taken steps to prepare for a potential increase in applications for asylum from Ukrainian nationals.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Leasehold: Contracts

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to (a) retrospectively amend and (b) amend existing unfair leasehold contracts.

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to (a) retrospectively address and (b) reform practices leading to unfair ground rent contracts.

Eddie Hughes: We are taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market. The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act will put an end to ground rents for most new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. It is absolutely right that leaseholders should know about the coming changes that might affect them. We are preparing a number of activities to help with this as part of ensuring a smooth implementation of the Act.  We understand the difficulties some existing leaseholders face with high and escalating ground rents. Unfair practices have no place in the housing market and the Government is committed to ending them. This is why we asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate potential mis-selling of homes and unfair terms in the leasehold sector. The Government has welcomed the action to tackle potential mis-selling and unfair terms in the leasehold sector and wants to see homeowners who have been affected obtain the justice and redress they deserve.The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act is the first of a two-part seminal legislation programme to reform the leasehold system in this Parliament. On 7 January 2021 the Government announced reforms to enfranchisement valuation, 990-year leases, and established a new Commonhold Council. We will reform the process of enfranchisement valuation making it cheaper and simpler for leaseholders to extend their lease or purchase their freehold. For leaseholders buying the freehold or extending their lease, we will also cap ground rent to 0.1% of the freehold value for the purposes of calculating the premium. We will also prescribe rates and introduce an online calculator which will make it simpler for leaseholders to find out how much it will cost them to enfranchise.

Northern Ireland Office

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many cases inspected by Operation Kenova (a) have been completed, (b) remain active and (c) have been submitted to the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland.

Conor Burns: The Northern Ireland Office does not keep active records of the information requested. This request should be directed to Operation Kenova, which is operationally independent of the Government.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many active cases the Police Service of Northern Ireland is investigating relating to activity during the Troubles involving (a) republican paramilitaries, (b) loyalist paramilitaries, (c) members of the armed forces and (d) others as of 28 February 2022; and of those cases how many (i) are case reviews, (ii) are investigations and (iii) have been submitted to the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many cases the Police Service of Northern Ireland has completed in relation to offences that took place during the Troubles involving (a) republican paramilitaries, (b) loyalist paramilitaries, (c) members of the armed forces and (d) others; and of those cases how many were submitted to the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many cases the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Legacy Investigations Branch is considering; and how many victims those cases involve.

Conor Burns: The Northern Ireland Office does not keep active records of the information requested. These requests should be directed to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which is operationally independent of the Government.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many prosecutorial decisions the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland has made on Troubles-related offences involving individuals from (a) republican paramilitaries, (b) loyalist paramilitaries, (c) members of the armed forces and (d) others as of 28 February 2022; and of those resulting in prosecutions how many cases (i) are active, (ii) were discontinued, (iii) resulted in a conviction and (iv) resulted in acquittal.

Conor Burns: The Northern Ireland Office does not keep active records of the information requested. This request should be directed to the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland, which is operationally independent of the Government.

Department for International Trade

Foreign Investment in UK: Russia

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to inward investment from the Russian Federation, what total number of inward investment projects supported by her Department were delivered in each financial year from 2014-15 to 2020-21.

Mike Freer: The Department for International Trade (DIT) has data for foreign direct investments (FDI) that originated in Russia with DIT support for the financial years 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 - see attached.Prior to this, DIT has not published data relating specifically to Russia in its breakdown of origin.FDI - Russia (docx, 15.0KB)

Food: Trade Promotion

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to promote exports of British (a) beer, (b) lamb, (c) dairy products and (d) beef.

Mike Freer: The Department for International Trade (DIT) offers a compelling programme of trade promotion activity that encourages our beer, lamb, dairy, and beef exporters to unlock international opportunities. This includes support to exhibit at global food and drink trade events through the UK Tradeshow Programme for eligible businesses. We organise business networking and sampling events, matching international buyers and sellers, enabling buyers to experience our fantastic produce and ensure more British produce is sold overseas. Our beer, lamb, dairy, and beef exporters are also supported through DIT’s wider services including the Export Support Service, the digital GREAT.gov.uk platform, the Export Academy, UK Export Finance, and our network of domestic and overseas trade advisers.

Overseas Trade: Russia

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of the total value of UK-Russian trade will be affected by the implementation of sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.

Mike Freer: The United Kingdom is in the top 20 of Russia’s trading partners and our action is coordinated with international partners, magnifying impact.Data from the Office for National Statistics show that in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2021, Russia accounted for 1.3% of total United Kingdom trade, and 0.7% of the United Kingdom’s exports. In 2021, the commodity codes covered in Schedule 2A of the new legislation accounted for 11.8% of United Kingdom goods exports to Russia (HMRC). Although the situation is evolving, impact assessments have been published alongside the recent legislation which provide further detail.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling: Internet

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how the proposed Single Customer View (CSV) to monitor customer activity of those who use internet betting platforms will be regulated to ensure that gamblers who make a profit are not unjustly registered as problem gamblers; and whether she has had discussions with relevant stakeholders on additional costs that may be caused by SCV to the levy and racing industry.

Chris Philp: The Gambling Commission has made clear from the outset that the single customer view is only intended to facilitate data sharing for safer gambling purposes. It has worked closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office to understand how a single customer view can be delivered in compliance with all relevant data protection requirements. The project is currently entering a pilot stage with GAMSTOP, which operates the national online self-exclusion scheme, as technical provider.The Government and the Commission will monitor the progress of the trials closely, and further information will be published in due course. The Gambling Commission’s most recent update surrounding progress and next steps can be found here.We are considering impact at the appropriate stages for all policies in our Gambling White Paper which we will publish in the coming weeks.

Social Media: Disclosure of Information

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to introduce full transparency requirements for social media networks.

Chris Philp: Companies providing high-reach, high-risk online services, such as the major social media sites, will be required to publish annual transparency reports containing information about the steps they are taking to tackle online harms on their platforms. This will include steps companies are taking to comply with their online safety duties, the systems and processes in place for users to report illegal content and the application of companies’ terms of service.The Online Safety Bill sets out high level categories of information that Ofcom may require companies to include in their transparency reports. Ofcom will set out what information is required from companies in a notice, which will also specify the format, manner and deadline for the information to be provided to Ofcom. Ofcom will publish an annual transparency report which will include information about the contents of the reports companies have produced.Ofcom will have a range of additional powers to assess whether companies are fulfilling their duties, such as the power to require information from companies, require interviews, require companies to undergo a skilled person’s report, and in certain circumstances, the power to access premises, data and equipment.

Food: Advertising

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish guidance on the brand advertising exemption from advertising restrictions contained in the Health and Care Bill.

Julia Lopez: The brand advertising exemption referred to in the government’s 2021 consultation response on less healthy food and drink advertising is not expressly referred to in the Health and Care Bill, as the scope of the restrictions extend only to the advertising of identifiable less healthy food and drink products. This means that brand advertising is out of scope, and provided that there are no identifiable products, food and drink brands can continue to advertise.It is the government’s intention to work with regulators to ensure that clear guidance is available for businesses to understand all elements of the restrictions and ensure their compliance. This will include providing more detail on brand advertising. We expect this guidance to be made available for consultation later this year. The exact timing is a matter for regulators.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Coronavirus

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that her Department and its agencies remove all internal covid-19 related policies, restrictions and mask mandates.

Julia Lopez: The government’s Working Safely guidance continues to require organisations to carry out a risk assessment which includes the risk from COVID-19. It also sets out additional actions organisations can take to protect employees and customers in the workplace, such as ensuring adequate ventilation, frequent cleaning, asking people to wash their hands frequently and asking people with COVID-19 to stay away. The guidance advises that people continue to wear face coverings in crowded and enclosed settings where they come into contact with people they do not normally meet, when rates of transmission are high. DCMS will continue to follow this guidance and align their policies accordingly.Government advice for self isolation (following a positive test) still remains in place, so DCMS will continue to follow this and DCMS will not be asking people with Covid symptoms or a positive test to come into the office. It remains good practice for employees to inform close contacts following a positive result, therefore DCMS will continue to assist with case response support.DCMS will assess the new public health guidance, from 1 April and use this advice to inform decisions on how to manage the risk on a long term basis.

Press: Technology

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what (a) legislative and (b) regulatory steps the Government is taking to enable UK news publishers to negotiate for fair payment by technology companies for the news content that they generate.

Julia Lopez: Newspapers play an invaluable role in the fabric of our society and the government is committed to considering all possible options in the interest of supporting the sustainability of the press. As society continues to move online, the news publishing sector is facing significant challenges in transitioning to sustainable digital business models. As part of this, we are aware of concerns about the effect of the power and position of some online platforms when dealing with news publishers, as identified by the Cairncross Review.The government set out its proposals for a new pro-competition regime for digital markets in a public consultation in July 2021. The regime will drive a more vibrant and innovative economy across the UK. In line with codes proposed in the Cairncross Review, the regime’s conduct requirements will improve competition and transparency and so make an important contribution to the sustainability of the press. We have also sought advice from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Ofcom on how the regime would govern the relationship between platforms and content producers including news publishers. No final decisions have been made.A consultation response will be published in due course and we will legislate to put the regime on a statutory footing as soon as parliamentary time allows.

COP26

COP26

Adam Afriyie: To ask the President of COP26, what progress he plans to make on adaptation in his COP26 presidency year.

Alok Sharma: The agreement at COP26 made significant progress on adaptation, including the immediate launch of the Glasgow-Sharm el Sheikh work programme to deliver on the Global Goal on Adaptation. This is a significant step forward which will deliver action to reduce vulnerability, strengthen resilience and increase the capacity of people and the planet to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Developed countries also agreed to at least double their collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing countries by 2025. Under our Presidency year we will work with Parties to make progress on both of these areas.